Of course we must talk
Just over six years ago, in the chaotic days that followed the fall of Kabul and the disintegration of the Taliban regime, I drove out of the Afghan capital, heading south-east. Across the country every individual warlord, exiled commander, senior cleric, returning politician or tribal leader was trying to manoeuvre to be best placed for the post-Taliban era, whatever it might bring.In Gardez, a market town halfway to Khost, I found the local governor in his hujra, the guestroom in which males usually come together to meet, eat and talk. In long ranks around its walls, some reclining on cushions, others leaning forward intently, were three dozen grey-bearded men.… Seguir leyendo »